Page 45 of Snowed In with My Best Friend's Dad

“What reason do you have for invading Mira's privacy?” She rose from my chair, moving away from me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. What could I tell her that would make sense? “What do you care? I thought you were past her."

She made a face. "Nice try, Dad. Seriously. Why are you spying on her? Did she steal something from the cabin?”

Yes. She stole my sanity. "No."

"I didn't think so. Tell me the truth.”

Think fast, Brett.I took a moment as I sat in my chair and cleared my throat. It was enough time to come up with a plausible reason to find Miranda. "I did it for you.”

Lindsay arched a brow. "For me?” She didn't sound convinced.

"You were so upset with how and why she left that I thought I’d find her for you.”

She pursed her lips. "So why are you mad that I opened the envelope?”

“You took the envelope without knowing it was for you. You don’t respect my things.”

She studied me. "Is this true?"

"Why else would I look for her?” I hoped to hell she couldn't see through my lie.

All of a sudden, her expression showed insight. It was like a light bulb lit up over her head. "Oh, I know what you're doing. You think Mira will come back and I’ll kick Liam out."

"Ah. Busted." Thank you, Lindsay, for giving me a reason for my egregious behavior.

"Get over it, Dad. I’m an adult now.”

“Yes, one who still relies on her father. You can't have it both ways, Lindsay. You can't expect me to pay your way through life and not have input on how you live it."

She made a face. "First, I’m making Liam and Oliver pay rent, so my cost is less. That's good money sense, right?"

"Who pays the mortgage on your place?”

"Why can't you give me credit for anything?” She shook her head, looking dejected. I wasn’t wrong, yet I felt bad for making her feel like that.

“I came here to see if you wanted to go for coffee.”

“Is everything alright?” I asked. She didn’t usually stop by for coffee unless she had something she needed.

She looked at me with indignation. “I had news that I thought would make you happy. I have a job lined up after graduation, but now I know you won't think it pays enough or doesn't have good benefits. You’ll be disappointed about something.”

I hated making her feel I wasn’t proud of her. Especially since I spent the first few minutes of her visit lying to her.

"Lindsay. Congrats. How about we get champagne, and you can tell me all about your job?”

For a moment, I thought she’d turn me down.

"Okay. But no talking about Liam, alright?"

"Deal.”

I left the office with Lindsay feeling like I’d dodged a bullet... unless, of course, now armed with an address, Lindsay reached out to Miranda.

16

Miranda

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